Kotuwe Gedara Sriyantha Dharmasena vs. The Hon. Attorney General – SC APPEAL NO: 184/2019-2022

In the case between Kotuwe Gedara Sriyantha Dharmasena (Accused-Appellant) and The Hon. Attorney General (representing the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka), the court addressed the issue of whether the appellant’s conviction, based mainly on circumstantial evidence and the use of confessions by co-accused under Section 30 of the Evidence Ordinance, met the legal standard required to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The findings established that the prosecution’s reliance on confessions of co-accused and the chain of circumstantial facts did not exclude all reasonable hypotheses except that of guilt. It was held that, as per established legal precedent and principles, including those from Rex vs. Ukku Banda and King vs. Ferdinands, the evidence was insufficient to uphold the